Mr. Matthew Ryan:

It is not a black-and-white answer; it very much depends. The problem of cyberbullying has been exacerbated during the Covid pandemic. We have been using things like Microsoft Teams and it is possible to private message on Teams. There is an instant opportunity for bullying when someone can private message someone else at any time of the day. It is very difficult for teachers to monitor that, if they are not trained properly in IT skills. It is also hard to know whose jurisdiction it falls under if it is happening outside the school, as the Deputy mentioned.

The cliché of the schoolyard bully walking around beating people up, taking their lunch money and so on was mentioned earlier. That is quite outdated. It happens, but I feel it is a much more blended approach to bullying. There is not one type that is more prevalent or less prevalent. It is not about which is more or less prevalent; it is about the impact it has on students. Whether they are cyberbullied, physically bullied or excluded, what is important are the impact it has, as opposed to what happened to them, and how we can prevent that no matter what type of bullying it is.